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Book 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT 



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LITTLE GUIDE 



Niagara Falls 



CONTAINING 



/ Brief Description of the Principal Points of Interest, 
How Best to Reacli Tliem, Tlieir Leading 
Cliaracteristics, etc., Together with 
the Prices Charged for Guides, 
Carriages, and Conveni- 
ences at each Place, 



PROGRAM FOR A TWO WEEKS' VISIT, 
, AN OLD RESIDENJ. / 

" Niagara Falls is the croivning salary of New Y'ork 
State, and the highest distinction of the American Con- 
tinent.^^ 



MATTHEWS, NORTHRUF 

BUFFALO AND NEW YORK; 
1890. 







Copyrighted, 1890, by 
MATTHEWS, NORTHRUP & CO. 



/Sh^^-;i.u 



THE TEXT AND PHOTOGRAPHS IN THIS BOOK ARE COPYRIGHTED. 



INDEX 



p PAGE. 

First General View of the Falls, 9 

The Walk about Goat Island, 11 

^View from Prospect Park, 16 

Trip on the "Maid of the Mist," 18 

Visit to "The Cave of the Winds," 20 

Visit to the head of Goat Island, 22 

View from the New Suspension Bridge, .... 23 

Queen Victoria Jubilee Park, 24 

View from Table Rock, 25 

Trip under the Canadian Falls, 27 

Trip to Lewiston, 30 

The Whirlpool and the Whirlpool Rapids, ... 32 

The Lunar Bow, 37 

View from the Dufferin Isles, ........ 38 

Various Drives about Niagara, 39 

Where shall we stay at Niagara? 42 



Guide JKInp of 




LITTLE GUIDE 

TO 

NIAGARA FALLS 



Reader, you are now at Niagara Falls. You have 
read about it. You have seen pictures of it. You have 
been asked if you have visited it. You have longed to 
behold it. You are here. 

Will it, indeed, seem to you to be what so many 
great minds have pronounced it, " The most beautiful 
sight in the world ? " Will it seem worthy of your ad- 
miration, your reverence and your love ? Believe me, 
dear reader, that will depend very largely upon the /<?«<? 
and temper — the thoughts with which you approach 
it. If you would know the real elements of its beauty, 
the thoughts it has excited in the 
minds of many distinguished men and ARRIVAL AT 
women, you will not regret procuring NIAGARA, 
at the hotels at Niagara — either at the 
Spencer House or at the International Hotel— 
the little pamphlet entitled, " Introduction to Niagara 
Falls." The extracts there given, will, I hope, do much 
to place you in the right mood to really see and to study 
Niagara. The reading of that pamphlet, will, I believe, 
do away with a flood of erroneous ideas. You will be- 
gin to appreciate how utterly futile and absurd it is to 
attempt to " do " Niagara in a few hours or a day. How 
ignominious and contemptible a proceeding it is to drive 
hurriedly in and about these sacred precincts in a hack. 



You will resolutely close your ears to all offers to " drive 
you around it " for a small sum. You will seat your- 
self at the hotel until you have carefully perused this 
pamphlet, and then, and not until then, start out to get 
your first glimpse of Niagara. May it be but one of a 
great number ! May it be your experience, as it has 
been mine, that the more you see it the more grand, 
majestic, and surpassingly beautiful it will seem, and 
the more ardently you will desire not to pass a day, 
but weeks and months on this enchanted ground. 

Why, if this is so, is it that so many people hurry in 
their visit to Niagara? The reason is this. Where 
there is one person who really desires to see Niagara, 
there are hundreds who simply desire to say they have 
seen it. These are they who come in the morning and 
go away at noon — who glance at Niagara as if that 
one look could give them any just conception of its 
grandeur and beauty, and who never even have a single 
sensation of awe, admiration, or astonishment ; who 
jump into carriages, gabble on the way, chatter on the 
brink of the awful cataract, drive rapidly to the noise of 
their own voices, through its majestic woods — fit spots 
for sweet and solemn thoughts — listen to some garbled 
tales of horror, told by an ignorant driver, keep on the 
move all day, and depart — poor, foolish souls! — im- 
agining they have seen Niagara ! They have never 
even commenced to comprehend the first element of 
its beauty. 

Let this not be your temper, your spirit, your method 
of viewing Niagara. Come to it resolved to make its 
beauty part of your own mental self, its grandeur and 
majesty part of the current of your thought. Let its 
great and glorious pictures be so etched on your mem- 
ory by repeated visits, that these will shine forever 
lighted up by the sunlight of remembrance, in the 
gallery of your choicest mental treasures. Then 
Niagara will be to you an inspiration, a blessed recol- 
lection, a theme of serious comment, and — recalling 



8 



its loveliness, its awful majesty, its exquisite beauty — 
your thoughts will be insensibly and repeatedly led to the 
Eternal Spirit, the Divine Artist, whose work this is. 

I assume now, that, arriving in the evening, let us 
say, you will select as your hotel either the Spencer 
House — directly opposite the New York Central Sta- 
tion — or the International Hotel — the nearest hotel 
to the Falls, and three blocks from the New York Cen- 
tral station. Thoroughly refreshed by a good night's 
sleep and an excellent breakfast, you begin your first 
day at Niagara. From the Spencer House you step 
out on the front piazza, turn to your left and walk 
directly down the street three blocks to the Falls. You 
cannot miss your way. If you are at the International, 
step out of the rear of the office on to the piazzas and 
the Rapids, Goat Island, and Prospect Park are in full 
view. Walk down the lawn and 
you will see the sidewalk leading FIRST 

to the Falls. Follow that and you 
find yourself at Prospect Park- GENERAL VIEW 
entirely free — where, from Pros- OF FALLS, 

pect Point you obtain your first 
full view of the great Falls, as well as a general survey 
of the various points of view and objects of interest. 

Directly in front of you are the Falls. Upon your left, 
the bridge leading to Goat Island, the Goat Island group, 
the Upper Rapids. To your right is the inclined stair- 
way leading to the foot of the American Falls, and 
from which you start on a most enjoyable trip on the 
little steamer " Maid of the Mist," which takes you up 
to the very foot of the Horseshoe Falls. Farther to 
the right you see the new Suspension Bridge leading to 
Canada, and then back upon the left, on the Canadian 
side, you see the road winding along the river bank past 
Table Rock to the edge of the Canadian Falls, and 
thence through the delightful Queen Victoria Park, also 
free ; thence the road leads up to the Dufferin Isles, 
the most exquisitely beautiful and retired spot about 



Niagara; passing these, the road winds up the river 
— one of the most lovely drives in the world. Cast- 
ing your eyes back now to the right, below the upper 
Suspension Bridge, you catch sight of the road winding 
down the side of the river, conducting you to the Whirl- 
pool and Whirlpool Rapids, and various other points 
of interest to be hereafter described. 

Now you have your bearings. You can begin to see 
Niagara now, if you will. You are now at Prospect 
Park, with its comfortable seats, its venerable trees, its 
delightful views — all of which are yours without price 
or fee. The State of New York paid over a million 
dollars to enable you to enjoy this privilege. Yours is 
the estate if you will only use it. 

Why deprive yourself of sufficient time to enjoy its 
beauty } 

Observe the changing glories of the great cataract. 
Note the magnificent cloud-forms above the Falls, the 
ever-varying shapes which the rushing rapids assume, 
the effects of the sunlight on the rising spray, transform- 
ing its cold mists into rainbow colors, shifting, rising and 
falling in eternal motion. Rest quietly under these ven- 
erable trees and let the sight become etched upon your 
soul — there to remain a picture of beauty and of 
power, in after years one of your choicest possessions. 
The time will seem all too short when your watch will 
inform you it is time to return to the hotel to enjoy the 
noon-day meal, and to give the surfeited imagination 
and exhausted vision an opportunity to recover their 
full force to appreciate new sights of beauty. 

If during the remainder of the day you desire to 
rest, or to enjoy the Rapids from a distance — lunch 
leisurely and watch the Falls from the International 
piazza ; if you desire to acquire information relating to 
the historical incidents connected with Niagara, a vol- 
ume on this subject will be furnished you, which you 
can read at your leisure on the cool and shady piazzas 
of either Hotel. 




; t 



\-'i 



:il%m^ 



Should you desire to drive, you can procure a car- 
riage at the Hotel, or a van in the Prospect Park, to go 
about Goat Island for the morning or afternoon, allow- 
ing you ample time to alight and acquaint yourself 
with the location of the various places of interest which 
you really visit later 07i foot, to truly appreciate. The 
highest price you should pay for the carriage is two 
dollars for your party, and you can possibly get it 
cheaper by making a special bargain. The price of a 
seat in one of the vans is twenty- five cents per person. 

But — let me again repeat — if you start to walk at 
any time, on this or any other trip, do not, under ajiy 
consideration, allow yourself to be persuaded by some 
persistent hackman — utterly irresponsible and some- 
times thoroughly dangerous, not even hesitating at 
highway robbery — to be " taken around to see every- 
thing "for one or two dollars ! You will end by being 
thoroughly tired, surfeited and dis- 
contented, dissatisfied with yourself WALK ABOUT 
and Niagara, confused by its sights GOAT ISLAND, 
and sounds, and anxious to depart. 

Let us assume, then, that you will start on the second 
day of your visit for a walk or drive about Goat Island 
— that loveliest jewel in fair Niagara's crown. Passing 
over the first bridge you are upon Bath Island, thence 
you pass over the second bridge and are upon Goat 
Island. Turn now to the right and pass along one of 
the loveliest walks in the world until you come to a 
point overlooking the American Falls, and where there 
is a staircase winding down the bank to a bridge, pass- 
ing to a small but lovely island. This is Luna Island, 
and it is from this point that one has the finest view of 
that dream of loveliness, the rainbow by moonlight, or 
as it is usually called, the Lunar bow. Observe the 
view, in order to return and study it at your leisure 
again. Retrace your steps up the stair-case, and pro- 
ceed along the river bank until the house is reached 
surmounted by the sign " Cave of the Winds." Passing 



through this house the visitor reaches the bottom of 
the bank by a winding stair-case, thence along the 
bank leading to that, perhaps, most magnificent and 
awful of all scenes at Niagara, the Cave of the Winds. 
A charge is made for this trip — one dollar per person, 
including in this charge a guide and a dress. The trip 
is absolutely safe. No one has ever been lost, and it 
is inconceivably grand. The visitor passes directly be- 
hind the Falls — and nowhere else can one realize the 
resistless terrible force and power there is in the fall of 
those apparently peaceful waters gliding smoothly and 
swiftly to the brink. Noting the spot to return to it 
again and visit this wonderful cave, continue along 
the island-walk until there is a break in the foliage and 
a clear view ; stop now, and look over this precipice. 
You begin to realize the immense height which separ- 
ates you from the waters below. It is an impressive 
and terrible scene, and it is not well to linger here long, 
lest dizziness supervene. 

Thence continue along the walk until the foliage 
permits you to obtain a view of the Canadian Falls — 
called the Great Crescent or Horseshoe Falls. Pro- 
ceed down the fine staircase leading out over the 
bridge to the edge of the Falls. This point is called 
Terrapin Rocks, and upon it was formerly situated the 
Terrapin Tower. Confess, now, that the view you have 
of the entire Falls is one worth coming a thousand 
miles to see. How it changes during the day ! how 
beautiful in the morning ! how magnificent in the full 
noontide ! how awful in the rays of the setting sun ! 
Day after day, and night after night, these great floods 
descend — with no confusion or tumult, but ever-flow- 
ing, resistless, terrible as fate itself. Glance at the 
tremendous volume of waters with their hue of deep 
emerald. Notice the lashed waves beneath on which 
the little steamer, the " Maid of the Mist," with its 
load of precious freight, rides like a little toy- boat in 
safety. 



Returning to the bank above, and turning to the 
right, follow the path through delightful forest walks 
up to the Three Sister Islands — visions of beauty and 
of grace which it is useless to attempt to describe. 
Here are charming little spots, cool and shady retreats 
in summer heat; here are dainty cascades with ten 
thousand various shades of color and shapes of beauty ; 
here, as you sit on the third Sister Island, the wild 
onrushing rapids seem to descend from the skies, and 
every vestige of civilization has completely disappeared. 

You are in the very presence of terrible, yet beauti- 
ful Nature. The man who cannot for hours sit here 
and find unceasing delight in the contemplation of this 
truly beautiful sight, may well suspect that he does not 
properly comprehend the Spirit that speaks to man 
through the multitudinous sounds of Nature. 

Returning once more to the Goat Island shore, con- 
tinue your walk to the right to the upper end of the 
island. How complete the change ! How utterly im- 
possible it is to realize that so short a distance below 
the great Falls exists ! How placid and quiet the river 
seems — how melodious and soothing its gentle ripple 
and murmur ! Of all spots about Niagara this is one 
of the most attractive, and, after lingering here, you 
may continue your walk back to the Island bridge, 
stopping on your way at the Spring below the bank to 
enjoy a cup of the purest water, and watching from 
your shady retreat, amid the embowering trees, the 
glittering waves, the tossing shapes, the wild magnifi- 
cence of the Rapids. In this part of Niagara alone 
you will find more enchanting bowers of grace and 
beauty than in all the glens of Watkins and Havana. 
Continuing your walk, you reach the spot from which 
you started. 

Usually you should visit the Goat Island Group on 
foot in the morning ; the foliage is fresher and brighter, 
and at every one of the spots we have alluded to half 



a day may profitably be passed. Leading through the 
Island are forest walks to the Terrapin Rocks and the 
Three Sister Islands, absolutely quiet nooks in the very 
recesses of the primitive forest where you may walk 
and linger for hours undisturbed, with care and busi- 
ness-tumult apparently ten thousand miles away. The 
birds are singing all about you ; the squirrels come 
and play at your feet ; many new kinds of wild flowers 
bloom there; the sunlight falls on a carpet of soft 
moss and of dainty ferns — while over your head 
arch the forest boughs and the great sky, pure and 
clear, unsullied by the city's smoke and dust. 

Yet all this time you have seen and studied only the 
beauties of one island at Niagara ; selected because it is 
a fair illustration of many, many other spots. Yet 
creatures having the form and general appearance of 
rational human beings actually attempt to "do all 
Niagara " in a day ! 



It may not be uninteresting in this connection for 
the visitor to read Charles Dudley Warner's descrip- 
tion of the Goat Island walk, as given in his delightful 
work, " Their Pilgrimage." Here it is : 

" The walk around Goat Island is probably unsur- 
passed in the world for wonder and beauty. The 
Americans have every reason to be satisfied with their 
share of the fall. They get nowhere one single grand 
view like that from the Canada side, but infinitely the 
deepest impression of majesty and power is obtained 
on Goat Island. There the spectator is in the midst 
of the war of Nature. From the point over the Horse- 
shoe Fall, our friends — speaking not much, but more 
and more deeply moved — strolled along the lovely 
forest, in a rural solemnity, in a local calm, almost a 
seclusion, except for the ever present shuddering roar 
in the air. On the shore above the Horseshoe, they 
first comprehended the breadth, the great sweep of the 



14 



rapids, the white crests of the waves ever coming out 
from under a black, lowering sky. All the foreground 
was in bright sunlight, dancing, sparkling, leaping, hurry- 
ing on, converging to the angle where the water becomes 
a deep emerald, at the brink and plunge. The rapids 
above are a series of shelves, bristling with jutting 
rocks and lodged stumps of trees, and the wildness of 
the scene is intensified by the rugged fringe of ever- 
green on the opposite shore. Over the whole island, 
the mist rising from the caldron, drifts in a spray when 
the wind is favorable. But on this day the forest was 
bright and cheerful, and as the strollers went farther 
away from the great fall, the beauty of the scene began 
to steal away its terror, the roar was still dominant, 
but far of^ and softened, and did not crush the ear. 
The triple islands, the Three Sisters, in their picturesque 
wildness, appeared like playful freaks of Nature in a 
momentary relaxation of the savage mood. Here is 
the finest view of the river. To one standing on the 
outmost island, the great flood seems tumbling out of 
the sky. They continued along the bank of the river, 
where the shallow stream races by headlong, but close 
to the edges are numerous eddies, and places where 
one might step in and not be swept away. At length 
they reach the point where the river divides, and the 
water stands for an instant almost still, hesitating 
whether to take the Canadian or the American plunge. 
Out a little way from the shore the waves leap and 
tumble, and the two currents are like race-horses, 
parted on two ways to the goal. Just at this point the 
water swirls and lingers, having lost all its fierceness 
and haste, and spreads itself out placidly, dimpling in 
the sun. It may be a treacherous pause, this water 
may be as cruel as that which rages below, and exults 
in catching a boat or a man and bounding with the 
victim over the cataract. But the calm was very grate- 
ful to the stunned and buffeted visitors. Upon their 
jarred nerves it was like the peace of God." 



15 



MONDA Y. 

Let US assume you have passed your first day at 
Niagara in this general visit to Prospect Park and 
Goat Island. You have now, as it w^ere, a bird's-eye 
view of the American side. Let us again on 

TUBS DA Y 

proceed to study this magnificent masterpiece of Na- 
ture. Starting again on Prospect Point, observe more 
carefully the scene. And hereafter, in the descriptions 
given, unless otherwise indicated, I use the words of 
the venerable man of whom I made mention in the 
little pamphlet " Introduction to Niagara." To him be 
all the praise of which they are worthy. Of this scene 
he says : — The river rolls by in the sunlight like 
a rufifled sea of silver, two hundred feet beneath tlie 
cliff from which you look down, bounded on either 

side by huge frowning walls of 

VIEW FROM limestone, crested by fair fields, 

PROSPECT PARK. ^^^ clustering forest trees, 

stretching away in the distance. 
The agitated and heaving abyss, the clouds of rising 
spray, the flashing snowy sheet hanging between sea 
and sky, the dark cliffs and islands that bound and 
divide them, the ocean of tumbling waters that seem 
sporting above and beyond the precipice, and come 
dancing over the cataract to the music of its everlast- 
ing roar, together form a scene, compared to which the 
ruins of Balbec or Palmyra, the Pyramids of Egypt, or 
the temples of Greece and Rome, are but the toys and 
foot-balls of time. 

The best view of the Falls, on the American side, 
is from this point. Table Rock, the Horseshoe Fall. 
Goat Island, the Central Fall, the American Fall, thr 
rapids and islands above, and the abyss and river 
below, are all within sight; but of the Horseshoe Fal! 
the view is distant and partial. In fact, there is no com- 
plete view of the cataract on the American side. From 



i6 



the opposite shore only, can Niagara be seen in all its 
parts, and in all its sublime majesty, at a single glance. 
But that one view, grand and overwhelming as it con- 
fessedly is, is almost the only one on the Canada 
shore. There are, it is true, many modifications of it, 
depending upon the points from which it is observed ; 
but it is still the same in all its leading features, and 
has a strange oneness about it, that awes even more 
than it interests. The eye and the mind, pained by 
its transcendant vastness and sublimity, can scarcely 
dwell upon it without some interval of repose. 

On the American side, on the contrary, while there 
is no one view of the cataract so grand and perfect, 
there are many of different parts, each exceedingly 
beautiful and impressive ; and such a variety of river 
and forest scenery, that the attention is diverted from 
one object to another, — something new and fresh is 
presented at every turn, the eye is delighted, the mind 
excited by a constant succession of pleasing and august 
appearances, — and thus a delicious interest is kept up, 
which seems to while away the hours ; and while lovely 
and striking images are fast crowding upon the eye 
and mind, they are both, as it were, refreshed and ren- 
ovated by novelty and change. 

From Prospect Point, having looked at the glorious 
scene as long as you choose, advance to the very brink 
of the cataract at Prospect Place. Here, standing on 
a secure platform, you can look directly down at the 
awful depths ; the huge blocks of stone, the rock- 
dashed spray and foam, the shivering sheet, and the 
heaving abyss, and up at the Falls, and particularly the 
American cascade, of which you have a capital view, 
though not the best. 

The American Fall is characterized by an irregular- 
ity that gives it a wild and singular beauty. The out- 
line is far projecting and deeply indented, yet with no 
very abrupt transitions, and certainly no monotonous 
parallels. The water flows over it in a broad billowy 



17 



stream, and is thrown out by craggy points in a hun- 
dred places, so that it passes down in a glorious snow- 
white drapery, wreathing into graceful fleecy folds, 
and possessing so much variety with so complete a 
unity, that it not only awes but delights, and you 
almost forget its immensity in the contemplation of its 
beauty. Near the shore, where the water is shallow, 
the stream ripples along pure and clear as crystal, and 
falls from the brink in a shower of sparkling brilliancy. 
Large rocks lay piled up at the foot of the precipice, 
where it is evident they have fallen from the dizzy 
height, and the descending torrent dashes against 
them and flashes up in foam and spray. 

This of itself will afford ample study for the forenoon. 



In the afternoon, proceeding again to Prospect Park, 

ride down the Inclined Railway and take a trip on the 

little steamer " Maid of the Mist." 

TRIP ON (Charge, 50 cents each person.) 

^^ Before you are aware of it, you 

MAID OF THE ^^^ yourself in the middle of the 
MIST." stream, and the boat riding grace- 

fully over the heavy swells. What 
a scene now courts your eager gaze : the mighty cata- 
ract in all its sublimity and immensity is above and 
before you. 

You are in the nave of a vast temple, whose walls 
seem the eternal hills, corniced with crags, ornamented 
with a fretwork of trees, shrubs, flowers, and foliage ; 
whose dome is the blue heaven, and whose altar is the 
mighty cataract, draped with hangings of green and 
snow, while from its unseen base clouds of incense are 
ascending to the skies, and bearing up the solemn peal 
of its mist-hidden thunder-toned organ. The floor is 
of emerald and alabaster ; elements are the ministers, 
and you a worshiper. This temple was the work of 
Nature, and to the God of Nature erected. Human 
hands could not lift even a corner of its veil ; human 



18 



art could not equal the smallest of its marvels ; human 
eyes could not penetrate the least of its mysteries. 

A vast semi-circle of cataracts stretches around 
you, forming a scene of surpassing splendor and sub- 
limity. Huge and massy walls of rock are on either 
side, and the shivering boat in which you sit, floats 
upon the surface of a sea, fathomless, convulsed, and 
immeasurable. Endless torrents, bursting as it were 
from the opened heavens, leap from the brow of the 
tremendous precipice, plunge headlong down the ter- 
rific height, and lash the deep profound, into which 
they are hurled, to foam and madness. The sonorous 
breathings of the tortured abyss roll up and reverber- 
ate in thunder-peals ; and air and earth tremble at the 
shock of the contending floods. Dense clouds of 
spray, rolling and curling up in shapeless and ever- 
varying forms, conceal the meeting of the waters, and 
majestically soar aloft, heaven- borne on the wings of 
the wind. The sun, shedding refulgent splendors upon 
the glorious scene, seems girdled with a radiant halo 
by the rising mists ; and rainbows, broken into frag- 
ments by the shifting vapors, appear and vanish, daz- 
zle and dissolve, on every side, in quick and magic 
succession. 

WEDNESDA Y. 

In the morning visit Goat Island, lingering in the 
forest walk directly through the heart of the Island, and 
leading to the romantic beauties of the Three Sister 
Islands. 

In the afternoon take the still more beautiful walk 
through Goat Island to the entrance to the stair-case 
leading to the Cave of the Winds. You will there be 
furnished with a guide and an oil-skin suit, and descend 
the stair-case and follow the bank to the Lunar Falls, 
under which is situate the Cave of the Winds. 

There is no more exciting and exhilarating excur- 
sion to be made at the Falls than that through the Cave 



19 



of the Winds. Nowhere else are the rainbow hues 
exhibited in such wonderful variety, nor in such sur- 
passing brilliancy and beauty. Rainbow-spray, rain- . 
bow-dust, and shattered rainbows are scattered around ; 
rainbow-bars, and arches, horizontal and perpendicular, 
are flashing and forming, breaking and re-forming 
around and above in the most fantastic and delightful 
confusion. The young husband may literally place his 
charming bride in a living sparkling rainbow frame, 
flecked all over with diamonds and pearls. 

Let us now describe the experience more in detail. 
Descend the sloping bank to the Lower Fishing Rock 
— as a limestone mass, at the lowest point of the island 
shore, is called — from whence the best view of the 
American Falls is presented, that can be anywhere ob- 
tained, unless, perhaps, from the river directly in front 

of it. The whole beautiful cascade 
VISIT TO hangs like a flashing curtain of 

shifting; snow-wreaths before you, 

(^AVP OP THF 

waving in fleecy folds, and pillared 
WINDS." by downy columns of the softest, 

clearest white ; around and over all 
of which a genial glory seems to float, bright and pure 
as the hope and faith of an angel-choir. The scene is 
lovely beyond all conception. Nothing on earth can 
compare in that respect with the American Fall, as seen 
from this spot. Vast as it is, you do not observe its size ; 
lofty as it is, you take no note of its height ; august as 
it is, you scarcely perceive its grandeur ; — its surpassing 
loveliness, and transcendant beauty alone seem to en- 
gage your attention. Finally, however, all these become 
blended together, and you begin to realize the majesty, 
as well as the loveliness, the sublimity, as well as the 
beauty of this incomparable cascade, and to feel that 
the power as well as the goodness of the Divine Archi- 
tect has here its lasting and visible impress. Long will 
that glorious scene live in our memory, hallowed by the 
recollection of a holy rapture, and an earnest worship. 



Re-ascend the sloping bank to the Central Fall, and 
the Cave of the Winds is before you. At the entrance 
you pause to look up at the projecting cliff, and the 
sparkling torrent that shoots off far above, falling far 
over, and far below you ; and down at the piles of rock 
heaped up around, and the foam and spray springing 
to light and loveliness from the rock-wave concussion. 
The mightiest throes give birth to the most beautiful 
things ; and thus the rainbow was born of the deluge. 

You are on the steps descending into the cavern. 
The majesty, the sublimity of the scene cannot escape 
your notice, and you will feel what I find it impossible 
to express. A wall of rock rises frowning on one side ; 
the falling sheet arches the other. You see it leap 
from the cliff far above, and lash the rocks far below. 
You seem between two eternities, with a great mystery 
before you, whose secrets are about to be revealed. 
What a moment is this ! From the vast cavern into 
which you are passing comes the sound of a thousand 
storms. You hear the mad winds raging around the 
walls of their imprisonment, and mingling their fearful 
roar with the reverberating thunders of the cataract. 
The spray falls thick around you ; almost overpowered 
with intense emotion, you hasten on, descend the steps, 
reach the bottom, instinctively retire from the rushing 
waters, and, having gained the centre and back of the 
cave, pause to look around. You seem all eyes, all 
ears, all soul. You are in the sublime sanctuary of 
nature ; her wonderful and fearful mysteries are above, 
beneath, and around you. God is Infinite, you are 
nothing. This is His temple, you are His worshiper. 
It is impossible in such a place to be irreverent. The 
proudest here is meek ; the haughtiest, humble ; and 
the loftiest, lowly. 

Between the Central and American Falls, and at 
the foot of Luna Island, there is a narrow vacant 
space, bounded and almost overarched by the tumbling 
torrent, from which grand views are presented of these 



21 



two cascades — that of the latter is particularly fine. 
Here you may rest yourself, or ramble over the huge 
rocks, in the pure air, with the bright river and the 
blessed sky before you, and the dark rock above, and 
then pass under the American sheet as far as you 
desire, or dare. It is a frightful place, overwhelming 
in its gloom, grandeur, and sublimity ; and there be few 
who have ventured far, though it is supposed possible 
to pass quite through and under the whole vast cas- 
cade. 

THURSDA Y. 

In the morning visit the upper end of Goat or Iris 

Island taking with you an interesting and inspiring 

book, alternately reading and sight-seeing until noon. 

You see the broad river spread out before you like 

a shining sea, with Schlosser on the left, Chippewa 

far off to the right, and Grand, 

VISIT TO Navy, and other islands in the 

dim distance above. It was here, 
HEAD OF GOAT ^^^ ^^^^ ^^^ ^j^ ^^^ ^p^^ ^j^j^j^ 

ISLAND. you are probably now sitting, that 

visitors to Iris Island were landed 
from boats, before the bridge was built. Such was then 
the only mode of reaching it, and the passage required 
great care, skill, and exertion, and was, of course, 
expensive. The island was therefore, at that time, a 
terra incogjiita to most persons — an unattainable ob- 
ject of intense desire. They could see that it was 
beautiful, that it presented grand views of the sub- 
lime cataract they had come from afar to behold ; but 
alas ! they could not set foot upon its velvet surface, 
repose beneath its shady groves, nor witness from its 
banks the marvelous glories that clustered around 
it, and in the midst of which it so sweetly slumbered. 
Happy traveler ! you can pass when you please, see all 
that it has to reveal, and ramble over and about it at 
your leisure. 



In the afternoon proceed down the street leading to 
Prospect Park and just at the entrance by the soldiers' 
monument turn to the right and in a moment you will 
reach the new Suspension Bridge. Mr. W. D. Howells 
has so well described the view here that it will bear 
repetition. Read it as you stand on the bridge. You 
will find it just, adequate, and true. Here it is : 

" Over the river, so still with its oily eddies and deli- 
cate wreaths of foam, just below the Falls they have 
woven a web of wire high in air and hung a bridge 
from precipice to precipice. Of all the bridges made 
with hands it seems the lightest, most ethereal ; it is 
ideally graceful and droops from its slight towers like a 
garland. It is worthy to command the whole gran- 
deur of Niagara and to show the traveler the vast 
spectacle, with all the awful pomp of the rapids, the 
solemn darkness of the wooded 
islands, the mystery of the vapor- VIEW FROM 

ous gulf, the indomitable wild- 

^fl u ( .u NEW SUSPENSION 

ness of the shores, as far as the 

eye can reach up or down the BRIDGE. 

fatal stream. The last hues of 

sunset lingered in the mists that sprung from the base 

of the Falls with a mournful tremulous grace and a 

movement weird as the play of the northern lights. 

They were touched with the most delicate purples and 

crimsons that darkened to deep red and then faded 

from them on a second look and they flew upward, 

swiftly upward, like troops of pale transparent ghosts ; 

while a perfectly clear radiance dwelt upon the scene. 

Far under the bridge the river smoothly swam, the 

under currents smoothly unfolding themselves with a 

vast rose- like evolution edged all round with faint 

lines of white, where the air that filled the water freed 

itself in foam. What had been clear green on the face 

of the cataract was here more like rich verd-antique 

and had a look of firmness almost like that of stone 

itself. In front where tumbled rocks and expanses of 



23 



naked clay varied the gloomier and gayer green, sprung 
those spectral mists ; and through them loomed out 
in its manifold majesty Niagara, with the seemingly 
immovable white Gothic screen of the American Fall 
and the green massive curve of the Horseshoe, solid 
and simple and calm as an Egyptian wall; while be- 
yond this, with their white and black expanses broken 
by dark foliaged little isles, the steep Canadian rapids 
billowed themselves down between their heavily wooded 
shores. The wedding journeyers hung, they knew 
not how long, in rapture on the sight." 

The expense of crossing over and back for each per- 
son is 25 cents, and when on the Canadian side, turn to 
the left, up the river bank and in a few steps you are 
in the Queen Victoria Jubilee Park, extending from the 
upper Suspension Bridge to far above the Horseshoe 
Fall. This park is entirely free, and is the property of 
the Canadian government. It 
QUEEN VICTORIA is thus described in the official 
JUBILEE PARK. pamphlet issued by the park 
commissioners : 

The Queen Victoria Niagara Falls Park covers an 
area of about 1 54 acres. It extends along the western 
bank of the Niagara a distance of 2^ miles ; the width 
embraces all the land lying between the water's edge 
and the steep wooded bluff, which forms a magnificent 
natural boundary on the west. Midway between the 
two ends there is a finely wooded island, whose shores 
wage never-ceasing confiict with the impetuous waters, 
a moment before they plunge into the abyss. From the 
pathway on this (Cedar) island good views are obtained 
of the whole reach of the rapids above the cataract. 
Near the southern end of the park, nestling in a deep 
indentation of the shore, is a group of islands, re-named 
in honor of Lord Dufferin, which are wondrously beau- 
tiful. Pretty rustic bridges connect these islets, and 
sylvan rambles and bowers have been provided so that 
visitors may enjoy nature, in some of its most charming 



24 



forms, with comfort and ease. Between Cedar Island 
and the Dufferin Islands, the Grand Rapids drive affords 
a continuous view of the tumbling waters as they leap 
from ledge to ledge down the 55 or 56 feet of descent, 
between the level of smooth water and the crest of the 
great fall. Altogether this is one of the most impres- 
sive sights to be had, and is second only to the views 
of the great cataract itself. A fine commanding view 
is obtained from the top of the bluffs, beyond the Duf- 
ferin Islands, termed " Prospect Drive ; " it is well 
worth visiting, as from it you overlook the whole sweep 
of the river from Navy Island to the gorge below the 
falls. The immediate locality of the falls is remarkable 
for the richness of its flora, and many hundreds of vari- 
eties of flowering and fern-like plants, growing w^ithout 
cultivation, are to be found within the limits of the 
park. 

All along the bank of the river from the Bridge 
toward Table Rock the best and grandest of all the 
upper views of the Falls is presented. 

The eye here grasps at a glance the whole mighty 
measure of the cataract; and Niagara in all its beauty 
and glory, in all its majesty and immensity, is spanned 
by a single look. It is before you, revealed in all its 
grandeur and extent, in all its splendor and sublimity. 
You stand entranced and spell-bound. Amazement 
and admiration are in your gaze ; awe and reverence 
in your soul. It is a scene to linger on, and long you 
linger, turning often away to rest the eye, and relieve 
the mind, and as often recurring to it 
with increased wonder and interest. VIEW FROM 
But at length you pass on, with it still TABLE ROCK 
in your eye and mind, to Table Rock, 
which at length you reach. The view of the Horseshoe 
Fall from this point is indeed magnificent. 

No wonder that the scene from Table Rock has 
been lauded and extolled. No wonder that it has been 



25 



the ultima tJmle of many a long and weary pilgrimage. 
It is all that has been said of it, and infinitely more — 
words cannot convey an idea of its unearthly sublimity 
and grandeur. The sea of rapids leaping and tossing 
above; the vast breadth and depth of the raging 
stream ; the impetuous rush of the ocean-torrent ; the 
awful plunge of the prodigious volume; the tremen- 
dous concussion, heard and felt, but not seen from the 
covering mists that envelop and hide the crushing 
appulsion of the meeting masses ; the pointed spear- 
shaped jets that shoot up from the convulsed bosom of 
the heaving and surging abyss ; the multitudinous 
whirling, shifting, convolving clouds of spray and 
vapor that roll heavily up and load the unresting air ; 
the dark, threatening cliffs that shut in the vexed and 
foam-covered accumulation of floods, in the angry gulf 
below; the resplendent glories shed over all by the 
burning sun, tinting with gorgeous colors the sheet, the 
stream, and the spray, wreathing with rainbow hues 
the fleecy and emerald robes of the grand cascade and 
arching the fearful chasm with a zone of brightness and 
beauty ; the wild hoarse roar of the mad rapids, and 
the deep booming thunders of the cloud-compelling 
cataracts — these, and a thousand other collateral and 
subordinate features, combine to form a scene which 
appalls and confounds the observer, while it attracts 
and rivets his wrapt and eager gaze. God of Omnip- 
otence ! this wonder is Thy work ; the very ground is 
holy with Thy presence ! This you feel — must feel — 
though, perhaps, you do not speak it. Crowding emo- 
tions swell the bosom ; thoughts that defy utterance fill 
the mind. The power and presence of the Almighty 
seem fearfully manifest. You gaze, and tremble as you 
gaze! 

Table Rock is on the same level with the Fall, and 
is a continuation of the ledge or strata from which the 
torrent-flood is precipitated. It projects over the bank 
and beyond the curve of the cascade to a considerable 



26 



distance, and from this circumstance derives its name, 
having in some respects a tabular aspect. Creep to 
the edge and look down — the sensation is awful. 
There is nothing but the invisible and imponderable 
air between the thin leaf-like crag which supports you 
and the massy blocks of limestone that lay concen- 
trated more than one hundred feet beneath, where they 
have fallen from the dizzy elevation whence you look, 
and been rent and scattered by the shock. There is a 
strange and indefinable fascination in the terrible 
depth that confronts you, 

" Charming the eye with dread ; " 

and it requires an effort to withdraw from that horrible 
verge of danger and death. 



Having now admired the scene for sufficient length 
of time to desire reluctantly to abandon it, and resolv- 
ing to return again, proceed a short 
distance above Table Rock, when TRIP UNDER 

you will be, if you desire, accom- ^, ^ ^ 

A . A -.x. -A J •. . THE CANADIAN 

modated with guide and suit to go 

in under the Canadian Falls. FALLS. 

You soon arrive at the misty, 
spray- washed entrance to the cavern, which it is your 
purpose to explore. Here you pause to enjoy a most 
sublime view of the cataract, and particularly of the 
Horseshoe Fall, which comes thundering down, above 
and before you, stretching far away to the left in its 
huge and awful proportions. Another, and in some 
respects, a better view of the same grand spectacle, is 
seen from the river margin to which you descend. 

From this point, more than any other, you appear 
to realize the vast height of the precipice, and the pro- 
digious weight and impulsion of the torrent. It seems 
a god-hurled flood, and you an insect atom, scarce be- 
yond its rush. Tremendous in its force, immense in 
its extent, appalling in its sublimity, the vast cascade 



27 



confounds and terrifies you, while it holds your gaze 
with a charm you can neither comprehend nor break. 
A dread indefinable divinity is in and upon it, which 
compels your adoration of Him who piled the rock, 
and heaved the flood that made Niagara, and made it 
speak of Him, through every sense of power and beauty, 
to mind and soul. There is a god-ness in the scene, 
that is felt in every fibre, but cannot be expressed, — 
that infinitely expands the soul, which is yet too small 
to grasp its dim outline even, — that crowds the mind 
with august thoughts and emotions, which struggle 
for utterance, but which the heart only can tell to its 
Creator in the silent eloquence of worship. 

Of all views of Niagara, this is the most impres- 
sive ; and, were there no other, it would seem inexplic- 
able from whence these unintermitted and immeasur- 
able floods could proceed, which appear literally to fall 
from the heavens. From this scene, tearing yourself 
away, you regain the top of the sloping bank, and im- 
patient to attain the penetralia of nature's hidden mys- 
teries, essay the passage behind the sheet. The winds 
howl around you; — the spray dashes in your face 
with blinding and almost suffocating force. You can 
scarcely see, scarcely breathe ; but the supporting hand 
of the guide, and his encouraging voice sustain and 
re-assure you. With hasty but careful steps you pass 
on, and are in a moment more, at your journey's end, 
and can both see and breathe more freely. The spray 
still showers upon you, but with diminished force and 
density ; and you look around, above, below. What 
a fearful place ! what an imposing scene ! unutterable 
awe is the first, and for some seconds the only 
emotion. 

You stand upon a narrow ledge, scarce three feet 
wide, and gaze with intense interest up ninety feet at 
the meeting arches of rock and water; and down 
seventy feet at a steep precipice, and a flashing sheet, 
which are lost to view in the rising mists. You see 



28 



the mighty torrent roll off the cliffs above your head, 
and plunge with a lightning rapidity, down the dark 
profound. You cannot see the strife between fall and 
flood — the mad melee of many waters; — but you 
hear the sound of the battling elements, and you feel 
that the struggle is terrific. Such sights ! such sounds ! 
— The eye aches ; the ear is pained. But there is a 
dreadful fascination in the place: — the eye looks 
eagerly, though it aches ; and the ear is pleased with 
that which pains it. 

An inviting extent of cavern, dim, misty, and inde- 
finable, is before you. You long to explore it, and 
advance a step, when the guide, catching your arm, 
assures you that you stand upon the extremity of Ter- 
mination Rock, and that, though it is possible to make 
your way a few feet further, the attempt would be at 
the hazard of your life. Reluctantly you abandon the 
hope of diving still deeper into the shadowy recesses 
of that terribly attractive cavern, and survey with a 
closer scrutiny the vaulted hall in which you stand. 
Ragged, impending, and seamed with fissures, the 
arching rock above you appears to be on the point of 
crumbling beneath the weight of the superincumbent 
flood. Massy fragments, held by no visible support, 
seem almost in the act of falling, and you can hardly 
persuade yourself that danger is not imminent and 
destruction at hand. But the reflection that thousands 
and thousands of persons have passed under them, 
back and forth, with impunity, inspires you with cour- 
age, and you scan, but with a throbbing pulse and a 
heaving bosom, the wonders and glories by which you 
are surrounded. 

The living deluge that bursts from the trembling 
crag above you, and flashing by is scarcely seen ere it 
thunders up from the gulf below, seems to make an 
eternal present of both past and future, by its lightning 
rush and ceaseless flow. Omnipotence mingling infini- 
ties, dashing down the flood, lifting the spray, and 



29 



swelling the sound, pervades the place with His pres- 
ence, and deepens the awe it inspires. But any 
attempt to describe the sights, sounds, or sensations 
produced by this transcendent scene must be vain, and 
worse than vain ; and I leave you " amid these vast and 
eternal workings of gigantic Nature " to commune 
with Him, "whom Nature's self obeys," and remain or 
emerge at will. 

FRIDA V. 

Taking your lunch with you proceed to the New 
York Central depot, and at 9, or 10, or 11 o'clock — 
for the train runs every hour — take the trip to Lewis- 
ton by train, and to Fort Niagara on the steamer, and 
return in time for dinner in the evening. The expense 

of the entire trip is but 50 cents. It is 

TRIP TO replete with interest, beauty and grand- 

LEWISTON. ^^^' ^^^ ^^ ^^ effect a complete view of 

lower Niagara, from the cataract to Lake 
Ontario. Well may one exclaim : 

" Majestic stream ! what river rivals thee, ' 

Thou child of many lakes and sire of one — 
Lakes that claim kindred with the all-circling sea — 
Large at thy birth as when thy race is run : 
Against what great obstructions hast thou won 
Thine august way — the rock-formed mountain-plain 
Has opened at thy bidding, and the steep 
Bars not thy passage, for the ledge in vain 
Stretches across the channel — thou dost leap 
Sublimely down the height, and urge again 
Thy rock-embattled course on to the distant main." 

Niagara River is, indeed, in its whole course, quite 
in keeping with the stupendous cataract from which its 
principal interest is derived. There is nothing insig- 
nificant, nothing paltry, nothing common-place about 
it, from the lake in which its vast floods have birth, to 
that which they supply. It is everywhere grand, 
mighty, and majestic. When spread to the dimensions 



30 



of a little sea, it has no resemblance to a shoal ; and 
when contracted to the breadth of a creek, it seems to 
possess the power of an ocean. The very interrup- 
tions it meets with in its way, seemed placed there 
only to exhibit the immensity of its force. The basin 
which receives its prodigious far-falling volume, re- 
sembles an abyss without bounds to its capacity ; the 
compressed channel through which it then flows, seems 
to have opened its rock ^und banks to an imprisoned 
sea, that would have burst a passage, had escape been 
denied. 

Making a sharp angle at the Falls, it rolls on 
through beautiful curves in an almost straight direc- 
tion for about two miles, then winds gracefully off to 
the left, and passing through a succession of noble 
bends, rushes, wild, impetuous, and uncontrollable, 
into the Whirlpool, Vvhere, like a baffled Titan, strug- 
gling with his bonds, it rages and plunges round the 
impenetrable barriers that hem it in ; and at last, hav- 
ing gathered anew its mighty energies, rushes headlong 
on in a fresh direction, and bounds away, free, fearless, 
and triumphant. 

Continuing in its new course — having turned less 
than a right- angle — but a short distance, it rolls away 
gradually to the west, and having regained its former 
direction, hurries on, inclining now to the right, and 
again bending to the left, here maddened by restraint, 
and there soothed by expansion, to the end of the 
mountain plain, from the gaping jaws of which it 
rushes angrily forth, but soon recovering the serenity 
of its native seas, and no longer chafed or enraged, it 
flows quietly and smoothly on, through gentle curves 
and wooing banks, to the sweet lake whose soft 
embrace it has come so far and encountered so much 
to meet, and in whose peaceful bosom it finally sinks 
to repose. 

From the foot of the mountain ridge to Lake Onta- 
rio nothing can be more lovely than this river. It is a 



31 



rapture to look upon its bright and tranquil course. It 
glides along so silently and almost imperceptibly, its 
surface is so calm and glassy, its breadth so uniform 
and expansive, its water so clear and deep, its banks 
so smooth and regular, its curvatures so gradual and 
alternate, its whole aspect so pleasing and harmonious, 
that a delicious languor steals over the mind, the spirit 
yields itself unconsciously to a sweet oblivion of turbu- 
lence and strife, and its contemplations are of sunny 
skies, shining streams, and shady groves. The eye 
lingers with delight upon the blended hues, the grace- 
ful turns, and emerald shores of the no longer agitated, 
but now beautiful, Niagara; and the soul, at peace 
with itself, with nature, and with all things, indulges 
in a dreaming delirium of joy, unshadowed by care, 
untinged with gloom, and unbroken by tumult. 

SATURDAY. 

Take your lunch with you and then enter the street 
cars, which start directly opposite the International 
Cafe, at the Soldiers' Monument, and 
THE which also stop opposite the Spencer 

WHIRLPOOL House, and you can ride to the lower 
Suspension Bridge for 5 cents. Cross 
the bridge to Canada (over and return, 
WHIRLPOOL 25 cents), and you can easily procure a 
RAPIDS. carriage to take your party for a dollar 

to the Whirlpool. The cost of enter- 
ing the enclosure is 50 cents per person. Remain there 
all the morning. You will find the time all too short. 

In the afternoon pass the time delightfully until sun- 
down at the Whirlpool Rapids (entrance to enclosure 
and down the inclined railway, 50 cents). Here there 
are lovely walks and shady bowers. 

Though all the surrounding country may be melting 
in fervid heat you will here invariably enjoy a delight- 
ful breeze and a most refreshing coolness. 



32 



The river at the Whirlpool, makes an acute' angle 
in its course, turning abruptly off to the right, behind 
the cliff upon which you stand. The furious torrent 
comes thundering and foaming into this great basin ; 
and its currents kept away from the place of egress 
by the mighty rocks upon which the cliff rests, are 
forced, by their prodigious impulsion, quite across the 
mouth of the outlet ; and, meeting the opposite bank, 
are again diverted from their course ; and, curving in- 
ward, are carried round and round the basin, till they 
are drawn down in the centre, driven subterraneously 
far forward, and finally ejected at the opening below, 
where they boil up, and bound away in frightful and 
tremendous plunges. 

Nothing that has life floats upon this chaos of con- 
vulsions ; but huge timbers, and sometimes dead 
bodies, are drawn into its vortex, and carried round in 
ceaseless gyrations for days, and even weeks, before 
they escape from its convolving currents, and whirling 
eddies. 

From the height whereon you stand but little of 
the terrible agitation and wild intumescence of the 
Whirlpool, can be perceived by the unassisted eye. 
The little sticks — as they appear to be — which you 
observe whirling and tossing about, are in reality large 
pieces of timber ; as by the aid of an object glass, you 
will become convinced and be also enabled to realize 
something more of the grandeur and commotion of 
this strange and fearful sea of imprisoned, but rebel- 
lious and still raging floods. 

By an excellent inclined railway you descend to the 
base of the cliff, and from the level rocks below 
observe the wild rush and whirl of the mad waters. 
The rapids above, and at the entrance of the W^hirl- 
pool, are terribly grand and striking. The huge surges 
leap and plunge with prodigious force and velocity; 
and their impulsion is so great, that the whole mass is 
heaved up at the centre of this mighty maelstrom, to 



an elevation of not less than twelve feet above its 
outer surface. 

Passing round to the right, you come to the outlet 
of this tumultuous sea, and behold a scene of surpas- 
sing grandeur. Tv^^o black and frowning cliffs, scarcely 
thirty rods apart, rear their huge and giant forms to a 
height of nearly three hundred feet ; and there stand, 
terrible and impending — the mountain-sized, rock- 
armed guardians of this maelstrom-portal. The es- 
caping torrents, crowding through the narrow passage, 
and hurrying down the slope, rush forward with such 
inconceivable rapidity and force, that the middle of the 
gushing volume is raised much higher than the side 
next you, which is smooth and glassy, but incredibly 
swift ; and the bounding surges leap away in sublime 
plunges of eight or ten feet high. These rapids are 
seen to much better advantage from the opposite side, 
as they are nearest that shore, and indeed dash along 
the huge rocks by which it is lined, in their curveting 
and uncontrollable course. 

Nothing that comes down the river can escape be- 
ing drawn into the Whirlpool, as the current is carried 
quite across the outlet, and turned up by the opposing 
bank. Wave urges wave, current accelerates current, 
billow chases billow, and there they revolve round and 
round, till, swallowed in one place, ejected in another, 
contending here, and separating there, parting, repos- 
ing, meeting, mingling, eddying, plunging, they at last 
plunge in the deeps of the abyss, far under the superin- 
cumbent mass, and thence emerge at the narrow out- 
let, whence they hasten away in the mad rapture of 
new-found freedom, to seek repose in the quiet bosom 
of the distant lake. 

It is utterly impossible to describe the Whirlpool, 
so as to give any adequate idea of its grandeur and 
sublimity. Beauty it has none, — it is fearful, terri- 
ble. There is not a winning feature about it. It 
is solemn, awful, impressive ; and, as a great natural 



34 



curiosity, second only to the mighty cataract of 
Niagara. 

A visit to the Whirlpool should never be omitted. 
It is in all respects totally different from everything 
about the Falls. A vast unit)/ of factious and warring 
energies, shut in and imprisoned by massy and cloud- 
reaching barriers, having no relation or likeness to 
aught else in the material world, it is alone in its solemn 
strangeness, and touches no chord of human sympathy. 
The only emotions it excites are unmitigated astonish- 
ment, and inexplicable awe ; — such, at least, was its 
effect upon the writer. 

The same cause that makes the waters in the basin 
below the Falls rise sometimes so quickly, and to such 
a height — contraction of the channel — produces a 
similar effect in this. A heavy wind down the lake, 
raising the river one or two feet, causes it to rise there 
from fifteen to twenty feet, and in the Whirlpool to 
nearly the same height. At such a time, when it has 
received the tribute of destruction, and planks, timbers, 
trees, and it may be boats, and dead bodies, are caught 
and enveloped in its tremendous toils, it is seen in its 
most sublime and awful aspect, and seems, in its wild 
delight, a living but imprisoned desolation, sporting 
with, while it rends its prey, and yet wearing a savage 
solemnity of countenance, in the highest degree hideous 
and appalling. At a lower stage of water, its currents, 
cavities, eddies, gyrations, are more distinctly marked, 
and the view, though less striking, is perhaps more im- 
pressive. Seen at any time, and seen aright, it cannot 
fail to excite astonishment, and fill the soul with awe. 

A large raft of timber escaped some years since 
from its fastenings above the Falls, and was precipi- 
tated over the cataract. The disjoined logs were 
speedily hurried to the Whirlpool, m which they re- 
mained for a number of weeks. It then presented a 
scene, as those who beheld it relate, of intense and 
startling interest. Scattered about in every direction, 



35 



they were to be seen in all attitudes, and from listless 
inanity, to a wonderful life-likeness. Some were 
floating on the glassy surface, others riding the gentle 
swells, some careering over the rolling billows, and 
again others leaping, wrestling, crashing, plunging, 
flying, following, retreating, pursuing, shooting up high 
in the air, diving far down in the deep, hiding here, 
and starting up there, as if a mad forest of trees, riding 
these infernal surges, held here a wild inebriate revel — 
or rather as if the mob of waters, seizing these immense 
weapons, waged intestine war, and fought one another 
— flood threshing flood, and surge goading surge with 
these Titanic war-clubs, now mingling in the horrid 
melee of strife, now thrown far apart, and again rush- 
ing together, implacable, vindictive, and unrelenting. 
It must have been a strange and fearful scene. 

SUNDAY. 

Excellent churches, Episcopalian, Presbyterian, Meth- 
odist, and Roman Catholic are in the village, and as 
this is a day of rest, no trip is proposed. Your mind 
if you have properly studied Niagara, will be in a deeply 
reverential mood and you will be prepared to say of the 
different views of Niagara, what Thompson in his beau- 
tiful hymn says of the seasons. 

These as they change, Almighty Father, these 
Are but the varied God ! The rolling year 
Is full of Thee. Forth in the pleasing spring 
Thy beauty walks, Thy tenderness and love. 
Wide flush the fields : the softening air is balm 
And every sense and every heart is joy. 
Then comes Thy glory in the summer months. 
Thy bounty shines in Autumn unconfined 
And spreads a common feast for all that lives. 
In Winter, awful Thou ! V/ith clouds and storms 
Around Thee thrown, tempest o'er tempest rolled 
Majestic darkness ! on the whirlwind's wing 
Riding sublime, Thou bidst the world adore. 



36 



In the evening, if you are fortunate enough to visit 
Niagara during the full moon, it will surely not be 
impious to visit Luna Island and behold the scene 
spiritualized by the lunar bow. 

There is a witching loveliness about this island in 
the soft obscurity of evening that cannot fail to please ; 
and a solemn grandeur in the cataract at night that 
commands reverence. Then, too, imagination holds 
her undisputed sway ; but the half-concealoaent that 
shrouds every object, confines her to 
the task of filling up the shadowy THE 

outline of the vast indistinct, that is LUNAR BOW. 
everywhere around. It seems a 
spirit-land, and gigantic forms of essential grace and 
beauty float before the vision, upon the atmosphere of 
fancy. Hushed is the voice of mirth, silent the tongue 
of conviviality. The actual blends with the ideal ; 
contemplation rules the hour and the place, and a 
subdued, but not dismal, melancholy pervades every 
brow and bosom. No sound is heard but the choral 
chant of the elements ; no sentiment breathed but 
such as befits the spot and the season. The Genus of 
Niagara, hovering near, spreads his misty pinions over 
all things, and the whole scene is hallowed by the 
invisible presence, of Deity. 

MONDA V. 

Walk across the upper Suspension Bridge (toll over 
and back, 25 cents), and engaging a carriage on the 
other side, drive to the Dufferin Isles (entrance for the 
entire party in a double carriage, 50 cents). Take your 
lunch with you, let your carriage go, directing it to call 
for you at five o'clock in the evening. You will pass 
here one of the most delightful days in your life. You 
will never forget their wild and romantic beauties, their 
quiet and shady bowers, their virginal freshness and 
sweetness ; and having gone once — many days will be 



37 



passed there in blessed rest and peace. Mr. Charles 
Dudley Warner in " Their Pilgrimage," describes one 
of the views therefrom. 

" In the afternoon, under a broken sky, the rapids 
above the Horseshoe reminded one of the seashore on 
a very stormy day ; impeded by the rocks, the flood 
hesitated, and even ran back, as if reluctant to take the 
final plunge. The sienna color of the water on the 
table contrasted sharply with the emerald on the 

brink of the Fall. The rainbow, 
VIEW FROM springing out of the center of the 

caldron, arched clear over the 

American Cataract, and was one 
DUFFERIN ISLES, moment bright, and the next 

dimly seen through the mist 
which boiled up out of the foam of waters and swayed 
ia the wind. Through this veil darted adventurous 
birds, flashing their wings in the prismatic colors, and 
circling about as if fascinated by the awful rush and 
thunder. With the shifting wind and the passing 
clouds, the scene was in perpetual change — now, the 
American Fall was creamy white, and the mist below, 
dark ; and again, the heavy mass was gray and sullen, 
and the mist like silver spray. Perhaps nowhere else 
in the world is the force of Nature so overpowering to 
tne mind, and, as the eye wanders from the chaos of 
the Fall to the far horizon, where the vast rivers of 
rapids are poured out of the sky, one feels that this 
force is inexhaustible and eternal." 

TUBS DA Y, 

Take a carriage and drive down the bank of the river 
along the America7t side, taking your lunch, stopping 
at that most interesting historical locality, the Bloody 
Run; thence to the heights above Lewiston, command- 
ing a most magnificent view of the windings of the 
river and the lovely valley of the lower Niagara and of 



38 



Lake Ontario, returning to the Hotel for dinner at six 
(cost of carriage for one or more, six dollars ; no tolls). 

WEDNESDA Y. 

In the morning walk about the State Park along the 
bank to the upper rapids, lingering on the way to obtain 
many beautiful views of the river. 

In the afternoon drive along the upper river on the 
American side, to La Salle, through a most delightful 
section of country, and in full view of the river. (Cost 
of drive, four dollars for carriage for party.) 

THURSDA Y. 

Take a carriage, having your lunch with you, and 
drive on the Canadian side to the historic battle-field 
of Queenstown and the monument erected to General 
Brock at Queenstown Heights. This is, in its historical 
features, one of the most interesting trips at the Falls, 
and the outlook from the Heights is grand. (Carriage 
for entire day for party of five, seven dollars.) 

FRIDA v. 

After the long drive of Thursday you will find it 
most restful to read or sit upon the cool piazza of the 
Hotel, or make, possibly, a short visit to Prospect Park, 
the afternoon being passed in writing to your friends 
about the many charming experiences you have had 
and the benefit of these suggestions, a copy of which 
you may obtain free at the office, and enclose to your 
friends. 

SATURDAY. 

Take a carriage and your lunch, and cross the New 
Suspension Bridge to visit Lundy's Lane battle grounds, 
passing thence to what is unquestionably the most 
beautiful drive about Niagara, viz.: the Canadian river 
bank up to the village of Chippewa, and thence to the 



39 



upper river, commanding a wide prospect of the islands, 
and returning thence through the Dufferin Islands. 
(Expense of carriage per day for party, six dollars.) 

No extra charge is made at the hotels named above 
for putting up lunches for guests. 



Of course, these suggestions could be greatly ex- 
tended by the details of trips upon the upper river, 
where there is even better fishing than at the Thousand 
Islands. 

Of course, too, each of the spots above named can 
and will be visited more than once, and with a day's 
rest between passed in the commodious and comforta- 
ble rooms of your hotel. 



It should also be borne in mind that upon the visits 
to the Whirlpool and Whirlpool Rapids, Islands, Cana- 
dian side, Queen Victoria Park, Dufferin Islands, much 
cheaper means of transportation than carriages is 
offered by the street railways and vans, which are not 
so exclusive, but fairly comfortable, and much less 
expensive. 

And now, reader, you have, I trust, begun fairly to 
appreciate the power, majesty, and beauty of Niagara. 
Do you know a more delightful place in which to pass 
the summer ? Can you find elsewhere — to speak first 
of mere material wants — air more pure, water more 
limpid, drainage more perfect, climate more delightful ? 
Do you knov/ of any other spot which so exalts the 
imagination, stimulates the intellect, deepens the feel- 
ings of reverence and awe, and which so exhilarates 
with the sweetness and rapture inspired by scenes of 
exquisite natural beauty ? 

Believe me, dear reader, when I tell you that you 
have not begun to yet understand it. "Age cannot 



40 



wither nor repetition state its infinite variety." It is 
forever fair, forever new. In the wild confusion — the 
fierce competition of business — you may think of its 
tossing rapids and its impetuous hurrying stream ; in 
your moments of darkness and despair you may, per- 
haps, dwell on its lonely and terrible Whirlpool ; in your 
moments of anger, or bitterness, or envy, the fierce 
force and terrific power of its awful plunge may be 
before you ; but again and again, after all these are 
gone will arise in the mind's eye, that eternal image of 
majesty, power, sweetness, purity, and beauty — the 
limpid waters of the great cataract, falling, falling for- 
ever in unending peace — yet falling only to rise again 
spiritualized, chastened, in the spray floating away 
to heaven. And behold ! — on the dazzling bosom of 
that spirit-shape, God's own bow of promise — the last- 
ing image of hope, of goodness, of pardon and recon- 
ciliation ; far above all strife, and tumult, and pain, this 
shines and will in the blessed sunlight shine forever! 



Such are the scenes, Niagara, that make us love thee, 
and bind us year after year with unabated affection to 
thy shores. 

And yet, year after year, thousands will come from 
the fens and marshes of the sea, from the depressing 
outlook, and the narrow, vacant life of the country vil- 
lage, from the stifling streets and the reeking pavements 
of the crowded city, and, entering upon thy scenes of 
loveliness, sweetness and sublimity, will rush madly 
about and attempt to see and understand thee in a 
day! "Verily I say unto you, they have their reward." 
For " having eyes they see not, and having ears they 
hear not, neither do they understand." 



41 



WHERE SHALL WE STAY, AND WHAT WILL IT 
COST AT NIAGARA ? 

You will find excellent quarters at Niagara Falls 
during the winter, spring, and autumn months at the 
Spencer House — a cosy, homelike hotel. The in- 
ternal arrangements of the hotel combine every advan- 
tage of quiet, comfort, and convenience. The rooms 
are tastefully and richly furnished and scrupulously 
clean. Viands that delight the eye and palate, linen, 
china, and silver of unexceptionable quality, servants 
ready without impertinence, and prompt without brib- 
ery, render it a most agreeable place of entertainment. 
Charles Dickens has praised its table, Wilkie Collins 
its beds and fine linen. Booth declares it his favorite 
hotel, Mojeska, Parepa Rosa, Barrett — that prince and 
king of good-fellowship, Chauncey M. Depew, — King 
Kalakaua, the Grand Duke Alexis, Bartholdi, and hun- 
dreds of others have enjoyed its hospitalities. It is 
kept on the American plan from May to November. 
Its prices for rooms and board on the first floor are 
$4.00 per day per person; on the second floor, $3.50, 
and on the third floor, $3.00. From November to May 
it is kept on the European plan, with rooms $2.00 per 
person per day on the first floor; $r.oo per day per 
person on the second and third floors, with meals at 
any hour to order. It makes special prices per week 
or month for families, and these may be ascertained by 
writing to the address " Spencer House, Niagara 
Falls, N. Y." The visitor will do well to do this, as 
to think of remaining less than a week is a great mis- 
take. 

In summer, the great hotel — the finest at Niagara 
— is the International. The magnificent summer 
home is worthy of a visit for itself. It is four stories 



42 



high, built entirely of stone, the kitchens, bakeries, and 
furnaces are in an entirely distinct building, so that the 
odor of cookery — to persons of delicate sensibility 
sometimes, in summer, very offensive — is never pres- 
ent in the very large, spacious, well-ventilated and 
richly furnished apartments. The hotel faces the new 
park, and its lawn leads down directly to the rapids. 
From its magnificent colonnades and rooms an unriv- 
aled view may be had of the American Rapids, and the 
islands and the brink of the Falls. Indeed, the lawn 
itself — interspersed with fine beds of beautiful flowers, 
and with clusters of magnificent forest trees — may be 
fairly pronounced one of the loveliest spots in the 
world. Its expanse of verdant grass charms and re- 
freshes the eye ; beyond the lawn are the silvery tints, 
the lustrous white, the indescribable green of the rapids, 
and the wooded heights of Goat Island — then appear 
the brink of the cataract, the rising rainbow-tinted 
spray, and then the rocky shores, the beautiful parks, 
the forest-crowned hills of Canada " withdra-.vn afar in 
time's remotest blue." There is not an object to dis- 
turb or annoy, not an unsightly structure to distract the 
mind, and here for hours, while the happy children 
play, and the fountain — fresh from Niagara's brink — 
rises and falls in rhythmic music on the lawn, and the 
great cataract rests and soothes with its muffled roar 
softened by distance and alluring to repose — here is 
the spot to which the traveler may come and find the 
true fountain of youth for which Ponce de Leon vainly 
sought in the everglades of the South. No pains are 
spared to make its table equal to the best hotels in New 
York City. It is opened from the 1 5th of June to the ist 
of October. Its prices per day are the same as those 
of the Spencer House, and it is kept both upon 
the American and the European plan. It offers ex- 
ceptionally low prices to families : rooms and board on 
the first floor are $21.00 per week per person ; on the 
second floor $17.50 per weeK: ; and on the third floor, 



43 



$15.00 per week. As the hotel is fire-proof, with fire- 
escapes from every room, three stairways, and two ele- 
vators, the rooms on the third floor are almost as 
desirable as those on the first floor. Nurses and chil- 
dren (under 10) are half-price. To secure early choice 
of rooms it would be well to write not later than June 
1st, and it is believed that the traveling public will find 
the proprietor and all his assistants worthy, efficient 
and obliging. Letters should be addressed to the 
International Hotel, Niagara Falls, N. Y. 



44 






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Neutralizing Agent: Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: 



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